#nettle rants

[and-i-lostmy-shoe]

The newsboy strike of 1899, colorized

[and-i-lostmy-shoe]

Something that gives me life is imagining how THRILLED all the newsies would be after visiting the modern era. Imagine Davey learning that Israel is a country. Imagine Kath learning that she can VOTE. Imagine Crutchie learning that polio is preventable and no child has to suffer what he did again. Imagine Blink and Mush learning that they can LEGALLY GET MARRIED. We have LABOR LAWS now. My point is, things may seem bad now. Trump is our president in America, measles is spreading because of anti-vaxxers, and racism is rising. Sometimes it seems like things might never change. But look at what we’ve done in just over a century. Look at how many more opportunities so many people have. The world is changing, so let’s help change it.

[and-i-lostmy-shoe]

Okay, I know we see Davey as the responsible one, but consider: Davey is terrible at taking care of himself. Jack, as a leader, has learned to take as best care of himself as he can with what he has, because he’s no use to his newsies when he’s half-dead. In addition, he’s gotten pretty good at juggling his own needs with everyone else’s. Davey comes from a more capable support network. He’s not the leader of a large group. He’s not the closest thing to an adult figure in said group. Like Jack, he looks out for his family, but unlike Jack, his family is able to look out for him. He’s used to only having to watch everyone else’s back, so he has no clue how to watch his own. He will look out for others at his own expense, he wears himself down. And I’d love to see this carried over to modern era, where Davey helps keep everyone else’s life together but at home he’s a total disaster.

Like, imagine this: it’s around midnight. Jack Kelly is woken by a faint voice coming from the living room. The other side of the bed is empty. Davey is talking on his phone in the living room, lit by a singular lamp. He’s trying to talk quietly, but the walls of the apartment are thin. As Jack walks in, he looks up concernedly.

“Oh no, did I wake you up?!?! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to have you awake at this hour!”

“Dave… you’re awake at this hour.”

“Albert’s been having insomnia again, so I offered to keep ~yawn~ him company through it.”

“That’s very sweet babe, but you’re going to bed now.” Jack says as he walks his tired boyfriend back to the bedroom.

[and-i-lostmy-shoe]

NOT NEWSIES BUT IT IS MUSICALS:

I’M IN NEW YORK!

AND I’M SEEING WICKED ON BROADWAY

[and-i-lostmy-shoe]

Race would not wear a tuxedo at his wedding. I can see him getting married in a wedding dress, I can see him getting married in a clown costume, but you will never convince me that he would wear a tux.

[and-i-lostmy-shoe]

It amazes me that anyone can watch newsies and go, “yup, nothing but Heterosexuality here”

[and-i-lostmy-shoe]

So, I think we can all agree, newsies 1992 was really. Gay. They could not have made it more homosexual. I mean, come on! Blush, Javid, blush, sprace, b l u s h. It was very overt. If it was made in modern day, I would have thought it was on purpose. But it wasn’t. As you may have guessed, newsies 92 was made in 1992. During the nineties, homosexuality was hush-hush. Not really talked about, not represented in media, and definitely not in Disney movies. So that means that everything gay in newsies 92 was purely subtext. Every. Single. Moment. They saw no reason that two boys holding a cup together wasn’t Perfectly Heterosexual ™. They actually thought that they could have a swing scene, and everything would still be Good And Straight ™. All I can say here is that they pulled a real Conan Doyle here.

[and-i-lostmy-shoe]

There’s an opinion I’ve heard a couple of times, and it’s that “Davey isn’t an anxious mess! He co-leads the strike! He speaks at the rally! He mouths off to Pulitzer!”

But the thing is, you can do both. Look at me: I have anxiety, and I do theater. You can have anxiety and do big things. Anxiety is by no means the same as being shy. Anxiety is a battle you fight against the voice inside your head.

You can make a difference, even with anxiety. And that’s why Davey’s anxiety is so important: because he plays a starring role in the strike. He’s a reminder that you can win despite the constant voice in your head telling you that everything you’re doing is wrong.

Anxiety is so underrepresented in media, and when we do get representation, it’s usually an anxious messy failure. But not Davey. He’s anxious and messy just like the rest of us, but he’s an anxious messy winner. And that’s incredibly important.